Saturday, May 21, 2011

BarbarianWarriors of the lower tech levels differ greatly from their higher-tech peers, though they, too, can be amazingly lethal in combat. These lostworlder warriors bear the (originally derogatory) nickname of "Barbarians" with pride, denoting their brute force and raw endurance on the battlefield.Skills: Athletics, Combat/Unarmed, Combat/Primitive Weapons, Culture/World, Survival, Tactics

Combat HackerThese pathetic creatures of meat and bones dare to challenge even the most perfect and immortal machine with their combat prowess and hacking skills. Also called electronic warfare specialists, these men and women are often included in crack military teams to provide electronic coverage and attack enemy information systems.Skills: Combat/Projectile Weapons, Combat/Energy Weapons, Computer, Security, Tech/Pretech, Tech/Postech

Combat MedicAlmost any military formation contains military personnel to attend the wounded and save the lives of casualties of incoming enemy fire. They are trained both in modern combat and in caring for the wounded.Skills: Athletics, Combat/Projectile Weapons, Leadership, Perception, Stealth, Tech/Medical

Company Man (or Woman)The vast megacorporations need strong and clever men and women to enforce their boards' will, to deal with any trouble that arises and to 'deal' with unwanted competition. These Company Men (or Women) mix the skills of a business executive with those of an assassin and industrial spy.Skills: Bureaucracy, Business, Combat/Any, Security, Stealth, Vehicle/Any

CyberninjaThe way of a Ninja is an old and well-respected way, but these cyborg assassins do not belong to it or to its philosophy, but rather adapt some of the Ninjas' old techniques to use with extensive cybernetics.Skills: Athletics, Combat/Unarmed, Combat/Primitive Weapons, Perception, Security, Stealth

HunterVast alien beasts roam strange worlds beyond the few known stars, and the Hunter's job is to hunt them, whether for food, trophies, defending a beleaguered colony or simply entertaining a visiting dignitary. The Hunter, consequently, is stealthy and skilled with hunting rifles, as well as with survival in the wilds.Skills: Athletics, Combat/Projectile, Culture/World, Navigation, Stealth, Survival

Perimeter AgentThe Perimeter Agency was once a branch of the old Terran Mandate tasked with monitoring technological progress and enforcing technological regulations, particularly where Maltech was concerned. Today, some of the Agency's local branches still exist, their agents restlessly fighting against dangerous technology, eugenic cults, deranged AIs and mad scientists.Skills: Combat/Any, Computer, History, Perception, Science, Tech/Maltech

PugilistNot al warriors fight with guns, lasers or even swords; some hone their body into a deadly weapon. These pugilists, or martial artists, can fight extremely well with their fists and kicks, and endure much pain and damage.Skills: Artist/Martial Art, Athletics, Combat/Unarmed, Culture/World, Culture/Any, Gambling

Secret AgentThe secret world of espionage and counter-espionage requires capable men and women with a license to kill. In addition to being highly efficient with their gun, they must also flawlessly blend into enemy society and, of course, penetrate enemy facilities.Skills: Combat/Any, Culture/Traveller, Gambling, Persuade, Security, Stealth

Vehicle SpecialistModern combat is typically fought with mixed-unit forces, where tanks, APCs, AFVs, helicopters and grav-sleds complement and support the infantry fighters. The Vehicle Specialist specialized in operating such a combat vehicle, be that as a tanker, a jeep driver, or a helicopter or grav-sled pilot.Skills: Combat/Gunnery, Combat/Projectile, Navigation, Tactics, Tech/Postech, Vehicle/Any

Machine EmpathSome rare psions excel at interfacing not only with the minds of men and women but also with the minds of machines. They are particularly favoured by anti-Machine polities such as the Liberated Worlds, who use them as weapons against the enemy AIs.Skills: Combat/Energy Weapons, Computer, Tech/Pretech, Tech/Postech

MentantNot everyone is content with letting high-grade computers run their societies; some, such as the Liberated Worlds, prefer to keep a human mind in charge of information processing. These specially-trained Mentants are human computers, capable of performing amazing mental feats with their minds and managing massive amounts of information.Skills: Bureaucracy, History, Science, Tech/PsiTech

Psi EnforcerRogue or deranged psychics are a risk to civilized society and it takes a psychic to catch a psychic. Enforcers are trained and employed to use the powers of their minds to enforce the laws of the Committee on Psionics in and around the Alkonost Republic.Skills: Bureaucracy, Combat/Energy Weapons, Persuade, Security

Psychic AssassinSome factions, such as the Liberated Worlds, make use of psionics to power their secret agents and assassins, using the powers of the mind as a dagger against their enemies. These agents are highly skilled in hand to hand combat with and without PsiTech weapons, as well as entering and leaving enemy compounds undetected.Skills: Combat/Unarmed, Combat/PsiTech, Stealth, Security

Psychic NavigatorNot all worlds entrust the navigation of their starships to ordinary navigation computers; some, such as the Liberated Worlds, prefer to leave Psionic humans in charge. These navigators use their precognitive abilities to give their ships an edge when crossing interstellar distances.Skills: Culture/Spacer, Navigation, Tech/Psitech, Vehicle/Space

I've decided to create a few more Expert Training Packages for Stars Without Number. Feel free to use them!

BelterThe wealth of a star system's asteroid belts is the bread and butter of interstellar civilization, and the Belters are the hardy people who eke out a living out of mining them. Naturally enough, they are highly skilled in anything related to living and working in space, but they also know their way around complex sensor systems and can defend themselves with their fists in the rowdy bars of the belts.Skills: Combat/Unarmed, Computer, Culture/Spacer, Exosuit, Vehicle/Space, Navigation, Profession/Miner, Tech/Astronautics

DetectiveThese individuals, be they police inspectors, secret agents or private investigators, are experts in searching for clues and piecing together the solution of mysteries, usually ones of criminal or political nature.Skills: Bureaucracy, Combat/Any, Culture/Criminal, Culture/World, Perception, Persuade, Security, Stealth

DoctorThe human body, like any other machine, might break down, and, like a machine, it can sometimes be repaired. This calls for a medical professional who possesses the skills and knowledge necessary to mend wounded or sick humans (or aliens!). These experts are highly sought after in space and on the ground for their medical capabilities.Skills: Bureaucracy, Culture/Any, Instructor, Perception, Science, Tech/Medical, Tech/Postech, Tech/Pretech

EngineerMachinery has to be designed, maintained and tended. The Engineer is the master of both machine, starship and structure design and their maintenance and repair, an expert in applied science and an asset on board any starship.Skills: Computer, Culture/Any, Exosuit, Profession/Engineer, Science, Any three Tech Skills

EntertainerBrining joy and interest to other's life can be a profession, a leading job in the entertainment industry. Whatever art they have mastered, Entertainers know how to captivate an audience, and also know how to manage an entertainment outfit in the cut-throat market of ShowBiz.Skills: Any two Artist skills, Business, Any two Culture skills, Persuade, gambling, Profession/ShowBiz

ExecutiveThe vast bureaucracies of an advanced society, be they a mega-corporation or a government bureau, need capable men and women to lead them. The Executive training package reflects a character who has spent time in such a high-level managerial job, involved in business and bureaucracy as well as in human management.Skills: Bureaucracy, Business, Culture/Any, Leadership, Persuade, Profession/Any, Steward, Vehicle/Any

HackerComputer science, especially at Tech 4 and beyond, is a very complex science, allowing for much specialization and requiring cutting-edge professionals to maximise its use. The Hacker is a general term for an elite computer scientist, be that an expert programmer, a crackshot technician or the professional computer criminal.Skills: Computer, Culture/Any, Perception, Persuade, Security, Science, Tech/Postech, Tech/Pretech.

Free MerchantUnlike the desk-dwelling executive of the larger shipping lines, the life of a Free Merchant crewman is both more interesting and more dangerous. These intrepid men and women reach distant stars and blaze new drill routes in search for new business opportunities, working as a tightly-knitted crew on board a small, often rickety, starship.Skills: Business, Combat/Any, Culture/Spacer, Exosuit, Navigation, Persuade, Tech/Astronautics, Vehicle/Space

WandererSome rootless people wander the spacelanes, some for the sheer thrill of it, others due to an inability to call any single place home. These Wanderers are jacks-of-all-trades, people who hop from one odd job to the other and from one planet to the next.Skills: Combat/Unarmed, Combat/Any, Culture/Traveller, Culture/Any, Language, Gambling, Stealth, Survival

I've decided to create a few more Background Packages for Stars Without Number. Feel free to use them!

BureaucratComplex societies, especially ones with moderate technological capabilities, tend to require large quantities of paperwork to manage. On higher technology levels, this record-keeping work is done on computer networks, but usually these is still need for administrators to monitor it. a Bureaucrat is such an administrator, ranging from a Lostworld scribe to the administrative assistant of a modern world.Skills: Bureaucracy, Culture/World, Persuade, Steward

BusinessmanWhether a store-owner, a street vendor, a small-time accountant or an entry-level manager in a vast interstellar mega-corporation, the character conducts business and manages finances. not all businessmen are entrepreneurs, but all of them know how to conduct themselves financially and run a business.Skills:Business, Persuade, Culture/Any, Steward

ColonistThe character has grown up on a remote, lowly-populated colony world, making a living out of the harsh wilderness and surviving many hardships.Skills: Combat/Projectile Weapons, Culture/World, Navigation, Survival

Computer SpecialistComputers are highly important to a modern economy, and many professionals specialize in their production, programming, construction and repair. These specialists know their way through most computer systems, and are also invaluable for the operation of high-end shipboard communication systems and sensors.Skills: Computer, Culture/World, Security, Tech/Postech

Law EnforcementComplex societies have accordingly complex laws, and they usually need armed men and women to enforce them. The character may be anything from a corporate security guard to a beat cop to a private eye, but all specialize in similar skills.Skills: Combat/Any, Culture/World, Perception, Security

MedTechFrom the Lostworld herbal healer, through the mid-tech nurse or paramedic to the Postech medical technician, these individuals is a healthcare specialist.Skills: Bureaucracy, Culture/World, Science, Tech/Medical

RebelIt is hardly surprising that the many tyrannies of the stars give rise to rebels and malcontents who oppose their oppressive rule. These hardy men and women take guns into their hands for the cause of freedom (or, indeed any cause they see worthy), risking their lives in the streets, sewers, mountains and forests for what they believe in.Skills: Combat/Projectile Weapons, Culture/World, Stealth, Survival